Week 2 NFL Roundup

September 16, 2012

"We had a lot of opportunity out there to make more plays than we did and hopefully it never comes down to a 42-yard field goal at the end. Hopefully we do a much better job on offense so it's not that kind of game at the end."

In the other locker room, tight end Todd Heap, who left the game late with a knee injury after catching five passes, knows how relieved Williams had to be. "He's definitely happy they missed that field goal," Heap said. "He got us a big first down on that drive, but he knows he almost cost us. When they missed the field goal he was glad he wasn't the last mistake."

The Patriots, whose 10-game home-opener winning streak, the longest current run in the NFL, fell to 1-1 despite rallying from a 20-9 deficit in the final seven minutes.

Backup quarterback Kevin Kolb threw one touchdown pass and ran for another score in helping the Cardinals pull off the road win.

Kolb, playing for the injured John Skelton (ankle), was 15-for-27, his rushing TD coming 56 seconds into the fourth quarter. Gostkowski kicked his fourth field goal, a 53-yarder, to make it 20-12 with 6:50 left; setting up the wild finish.

"The good thing is, it was an ugly game. It wasn't clean for our side, either," Kolb said. "It's not like we played the perfect game. So, we have a lot to improve on and like I said, if you can get those ugly wins checked off in the win column, that's big."

Brady, who threw a touchdown pass for the 34th straight game, finished 26-for-48 for 316 yards, the touchdown and an interception. Wes Welker, limited to three catches last week after going through a contract situation with the team, didn't start but wound up with five catches, while Brandon Lloyd led the Pats with eight.

Jay Feely kicked two first-quarter field goals for the Cardinals, who never trailed.

The Patriots lost tight end Aaron Hernandez to a first-half ankle injury and he didn't return. There was no word on his status.

Giants 41, Buccaneers 34

Eli Manning recovered from a terrible first half to pass for a career-high 510 yards and three touchdowns as host New York came from behind to top Tampa Bay.

Andre Brown ran for his first career touchdown with 31 seconds left and finished with 71 yards on 13 carries. Brown's 2-yard burst capped a 25-point fourth quarter for the Giants and was set up by a 50-yard pass down the right sideline from Manning to Hakeem Nicks.

Manning threw three interceptions in the first half but completed 31 of 51 passes. Nicks finished with 10 catches for 199 yards and a score and Victor Cruz pulled down 11 receptions for 179 yards and a touchdown for New York (1-1), which avoided its first 0-2 start since 2007.

The Buccaneers fell behind for the first time with just under four minutes left and looked content to march down the field with runs and short passes until they got into New York territory. Josh Freeman then went up top, firing a 41-yard pass to Mike Williams in the end zone that slipped through his arms before bouncing off the helmet of a defender and back into his hands for the tying score.

Tampa Bay built a 27-13 lead by forcing three first half interceptions, including a pick by Eric Wright at the end of the first half that he ran back 60 yards for a score. But the red zone troubles that the Giants had in the first half disappeared in the fourth quarter, as Manning started to connect on a series of long passes.

After the Vikings stunned the Lucas Oil Stadium crowd by scoring the game-tying touchdown with 31 seconds remaining, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck completed 20-yard passes to Donnie Avery and Reggie Wayne to set the stage for Vinatieri's game-winning kick. That gave Luck his first career NFL victory in his first home start.

Luck finished 20-for-31 for 224 yards and touchdown throws to Wayne and Dwayne Allen. Avery hauled in nine catches for 111 yards while Wayne added six receptions for 71 yards.

Trailing 20-6 late, Minnesota closed to within a touchdown on Ponder's seven-yard TD pass to Stephen Burton on a fourth-down play with 5:07 remaining. The Vikings drew even when Ponder led a drive from midfield capped by a six-yard strike to Kyle Rudolph.

Bills 35, Chiefs 17

C.J. Spiller rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns as Buffalo rebounded from a Week 1 shellacking with an easy victory in its home opener.